Swiped from Nick (h/t)

Would you rather have:

1. Cheap Gas
2. Independence from "foreign oil"

These are mutually exclusive options, both in reality, and in the context of this post. Anyone who attempts to sell you a plan that will give you both can immediately be dismissed as either a liar, a panderer, or a politician (which by definition includes the other two).

This piece is worth reading: What Dems Can't Say About Drilling

Here is just a glimpse of what David Harsanyi has to say:

The problem is that when "green" fantasies crash onto the shores of economic reality (as they did with corn-based ethanol), we all suffer.

Don't worry, though, congressional Democrats have a bold plan. Hold on for 10 or 15 years and
they'll have a bounty of energy options. They promise. But no oil shale. No clean coal. No nuclear power. And definitely no more oil.

Ouch! What could be more damaging to a person than that? But those Democrats put their head in the sand and tell us that the sun is shining!!

Senator Mitch McConnell weighs in on the issue of drilling in today’s Wall Street Journal with this commentary: Democrats Should Let Us Drill

“the only thing now standing in the way of more domestic supply is the Democratic refusal to allow it.”

Imagine that Democrats not allowing progress…hmm…think: environmental standards….think: integration…this is just another example of the myopic vision of the “party of the people.”

This made national news last year and this year Towne Market Mobil is looking to do the same thing.

But the reality is this “protest” is nothing more than a “look at me moment.” They want their 15 minutes of fame and want to look like they are doing something when in reality there is no impact…none…zero…nada!

The economist in the article has it right, “If a lot of people reduced their consumption of gas permanently, that would have an effect.” Barring this there really is no way to force fuel prices down in this fashion.

I know that the media and the lefties out there will point to the $11 billion profit of Exxon and but they ignore that the demand for the product has more to do with the price of gas than the profit margin of Exxon which is only around 10%...Microsoft’s profit margin is around 30% but I don’t hear anyone protesting that.

This holiday weekend people are hitting the road and news stories abound with segments discussing how much it will cost to travel due to the high price of gas.

But I noticed an interesting item through everyone of the segments…almost all of the people they feature are driving big “gas guzzling” vehicles.

So here is my question: are you traveling this weekend and if so what vehicle are you taking?

Doyle and 16 other Democrat Governors are calling for the President to pressure “big oil” to reinvest their “enormous profits” into lowering gas prices. (link)

Well here is some quick math for you:

$3.59 – Current price of Gallon of gas
$0.33 - Wisconsin MANDITORY Markup 9.18%
$0.32 - Wisconsin gas tax $0.32 (or 8.9%)
$0.14 - Federal gas tax $0.14 (or 3.9%)

$2.80 - Wholesale price of gas (Current price minus taxes and markup)

$0.26 – Exxon’s HUGE profit per gallon of gas (9.7%)


Doyle is proposing to raise the tax on gas an additional $0.07 per gallon (to $0.39) meaning that Wisconsin will make more money per gallon than ANYONE ELSE!!!!

Every time you fill your tank, repeat this until your tank is full:

Wisconsin is making more money per gallon than the oil company!
Wisconsin is making more money per gallon than the oil company!
Wisconsin is making more money per gallon than the oil company!
Wisconsin is making more money per gallon than the oil company!

I have spent too much time replying to friends and family members that send me stupid garbage like this May 15th “gas out” that I have had enough.

In today’s postcrescent.com editorial, Long-term conservation the real answer to gas prices, they put it all out there. For all of you that think this is “gas out” is a good idea, read this editorial carefully:

Avoiding gas stations next Tuesday is just a silly idea with no real common sense behind it.

American consumers have been buzzing about this so-called "gas out" on May 15, with rampant e-mails and Internet posts championing the cause.

The theory is that if everyone boycotts gasoline purchases that day, it will play havoc with the economic principle of supply and demand and make Big Oil rethink high gas prices.

We'll take some pleasure in bursting that bubble.

People buying gasoline is not nearly as important to oil companies — and the "demand" half of the equation — as people using gasoline. In other words, if you fill the tank the day before or the day after the "gas out," the oil companies have still sold you a tank of gas and earned a profit. Whether it happens on Tuesday or Wednesday is largely irrelevant to them.

Stunts like this are an impediment to progress on the energy debate. If you really want to perturb oil companies, try not driving at all on May 15. Or the day after.

As a matter of fact, start biking to work daily. And the next time you purchase a vehicle, buy a hybrid or a "flex fuel" car that burns ethanol.

We have to fundamentally change our dependence on oil to have a tangible, long-term effect on gas prices.

Anything else is driving in circles.

I can't believe this but I agree 100% with this editorial!!!

This is my blog post from May 1, 2006: Profit Margins

Here is a press release from Senator Decker May 1, 2007



I’ll reply to this crap soon…still looking up the data.

Doyle would like to asses the oil companies 2.5% per barrel sold here in Wisconsin and mandate that that cost not be passed on to consumers!

HUH!?!?

I would like to see the legislature pass all of the Doyle measures (tax increases all) and mandate that the cost of these programs not be passed on to the taxpayers!

Doyle once again proves that he is bad for Wisconsin and an embarrassment…I hope that those of you that voted for him are happy!!

JT article
JS article

As promised I knew it was only a matter of time before someone would be railing against the Oil Companies again. Lo and behold it is our own Governor! (link)

Today Doyle is outraged because he read a report (link) generated by his Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection (DATCP) that states, “Staff analysis of oil company financial statements indicate that the five major oil companies earned $113.33 billion in 2006” and that “These excessive profits are more than the top four companies in the pharmaceutical, retailer, and industrial/agriculture combined.”

So Doyle is calling for the federal government to repeal the “big tax breaks” that the oil companies get (see my last blog about profits and taxes of oil companies here) and “to cap oil company profits and to force the oil companies to provide a refund to the American people from the windfall they have reaped since Hurricane Katrina.”

DATCP talks about the net income (profit) but never mentions the profit margin. For those of you that are not very business savvy, Profit Margin is an indicator of a businesses ability to control their costs. If Oil Companies were really out to hurt the consumers then you would see that their profit margins would be HUGE but that is not the case. In fact Microsoft and Coca-Cola have a substatially higher profit margin but no one is calling for them to reduce their prices!! (link)

Here is the Chart DATCP is boasting:



Here is a graph of the Profit Margins of the companies they looked at when they “analyzed” the oil company’s profits.


Ultimately what this boils down to is that we are heavily dependant on oil…the more we buy the more these companies make. End of story.

From the Tax Foundation Blog – ExxonMobil’s Record Profits – And Record Taxes.

"While they were recording record profits last year, they were also writing checks to Uncle Sam to the tune of $100.7 billion -- two and a half times what they made in net profit." (emphasis added)



We don’t hear Hilary talking about that now do we?